


life is fart

by drow3n



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Character Study, Gen, Underage Smoking, before rachel amber's death, idk what else to tag, just chatting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-17 00:33:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 838
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29341371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/drow3n/pseuds/drow3n
Summary: rachel and nathan chat about his upcoming project
Kudos: 2





	life is fart

When Rachel Amber died, there was a lack of cigarette smoke outside the girl’s dorm. Everyone noticed it. Juliet would comment on it, laughing, exclaiming, “Man! As much as I miss her, it sure feels nice to breathe out here!” And, everyone agreed. Everyone noticed how nice the air was outside the dorms. Kate put a candle out, using a wanted poster to create a vigil for her. Victoria came to pray with her. It seemed like the only time they hadn’t fought. 

-

Rachel sat at the steps, her phone said it was nearly 3 in the morning. The door was propped open with her slipper, her bare foot bundled against her other for warmth. The little zippo lighter, white like Kurt Cobain’s, provided no warmth. The cigarette provided less. 

The night was quiet. A cool autumn night, where the stars finally got a chance to shine. Rachel loved watching the stars more than anything. 

She flicked the ash down then took a long drag. She’s been smoking for nearly a year, yet she’ll never get used to the taste of cigarettes. If she smokes too quickly, she gags. Leaving the cigarette hanging off her lip, she leans back on her elbows. 

The soft footsteps of the man she was supposed to meet caught her attention. 

“Nathan Prescott, as I live and breathe.” The light of her cigarette casted a faint glow over her features. “You look scary walking around like this.” Letting smoke out, she took it between her two fingers, pulling the pack from her pocket and offering it to him. 

Nathan and Rachel’s dads were friends. They, and Victoria, have known each other since kindergarten. They weren’t the best of friends at the end of the day, but their group text never went unused for too long and when they saw each other at Vortex parties, they did a round of shots together. 

He took a cigarette, producing his own lighter, and sat next to her. 

“I think I dislike you more and more every time we bump into each other, Rachel.” Nathan took short drags, not nearly as used to it as Rachel was. He found cigarettes to be unbecoming of someone of his place in society, as he so eloquently put it when she had first asked. She thought that was bullshit and used her trusty powers of peer pressuring anyway. 

“C’est la vie, my friend.” She flourished her hand as punctuation. “What did you want to talk to me about again?” She didn’t meet his gaze, which felt like bullets. 

“Are you cold?” Nathan kept his eyes trained on her. 

“Don’t change the subject, Nathan, you said it was important.” She kept her voice firm.

He looked nervous when Rachel’s eyes flicked over to him. Whatever he wanted to talk about must be super important. He subconsciously played with a loose thread at the sleeve of his jacket. 

“Well,” he paused. “Mr. Jefferson has me doing this, like, project for him.” The thread snapped under his scrutiny. “I was wondering if you could, you know, model or whatever.” 

Rachel snorted, almost choking on smoke as she laughed. “Seriously?” Her dimples popped against her cheeks as she smiled. “That’s it? C’mon, we have phones for a reason. This could’ve been a text.” 

“It’s a huge project!” He reasoned back. This could’ve been a text, he knew that, but a lot was riding on this mess he and Jefferson started. This was his chance to prove to Mr. Jefferson that he was ready to start working on his own. He wanted it to be with someone he could trust. 

Pushing hair behind her ear, she laughed again. “You’re ridiculous.” She pushed the butt of the cigarette into the stairs. “Yeah, I’ll help you out.” She stood, leg shaking against the cold concrete. “Just shoot me an email or something when you need me, okay?” She pocketed the lighter and the pack of cigarettes. 

“We can do it after the next party,” he stood too, speaking way too quickly for the words not to slur. Tossing his half a cigarette to the ground, “This’ll be great, believe me.” 

“Yeah, yeah.” She smiled, ruffling his hair before taking her slipper and heading back in. “Au revoir, dork.” The door locked behind her. 

Nathan waved. He couldn’t wait to tell Mr. Jefferson. 

-

At the end of the day, no one knew where she got cigarettes from. Chloe swore up and down she found a way to shoplift them, something badass that fit her memory. Juliet and Victoria theorized she’d schmooze and charm some thirty-year-old outside of the gas station. 

When the butts at the stairs were finally gone and the vigil candles went unlit for over a week, people had decidedly got over Rachel’s death. No more remained of her: the air outside of the door was untainted, her parents moved out of Arcadia Bay, Chloe’s posters began to yellow from sunlight. She left the town quietly, which is exactly the opposite of what she had hoped.

**Author's Note:**

> dhmu i wrote this on the plane


End file.
